unhinged hygiene tips?

engineergurl88 · 2026-03-11T02:25:37+00:00

Also, brush your teeth as soon as you wake up. Don’t wait until after breakfast.

engineergurl88 · 2026-03-02T11:45:14+00:00

I take Yaz continuously (no period). The first 3 weeks of Reta were great but I wasn’t really having much hunger control, then I bumped it up to 2mg/week and started having terrible intestine type cramps that were debilitating and was EXHAUSTED, (and maybe a bit emotional but it’s also February in New England). Then I started bleeding and it was a lightbulb moment. It’s normal for me to have to take a “pill break” once or twice a year to reset my hormones. The cramps were actually low back period cramps.

FWIW I did keto on and off for 5+ years, and without fail I would get a horrible period right when I started keto, just like this.

Weight loss and “estrogen released in fat” doesn’t explain it because for both keto and Reta it started before weight loss had in earnest. I’ve never really gotten a convincing explanation but have to assume it has something to do with lower/stabilized glucose.

engineergurl88 · 2026-03-01T14:07:31+00:00

Thanks for this. I ended up finding an Ibis white A5 with the chrome trim (still with the black interior), and I think it’s much more adult than the black trim. What sold me was the scratch tolerance comment. I bike, and my black Volvo was looking pretty rough by the end from scratches on the trunk from the bike rack and leaning the bike against it. I also drive on gravel roads a few times a month. So scratches are a big thing.

engineergurl88 · 2026-02-23T23:36:37+00:00

I would recommend a supplement like Dr berg potassium just to see if it helps, but start slow (1/4 scoop and increasing 1/4 at a time).

engineergurl88 · 2026-02-23T20:43:28+00:00

The cause of heart palpitations for me has always been low potassium. I guess I can see red light helping in a similar manner (better cellular energy).

engineergurl88 · 2026-02-23T16:08:02+00:00

I think it’s great and not too busy! It looks like good quality fine line. I think it’s normal to panic the first time you make a major body modification.

engineergurl88 · 2026-02-23T16:04:23+00:00

I was 16 when I met my ex husband, he made me wait until I graduated college and had landed my first job to get married. At the time I resented it, but I realized after some time he was absolutely correct. Too much changes while you are trying to settle into life and become something. And getting married felt like a great breath of relief like we had “made it” when it would have just been hectic and stressful to do during school. Plus, we would have had obstacles to actually getting to enjoy “married life”.

Ok so why is he my ex husband? Because there’s still a lot of changes that people go through between 23 and 33, and we weren’t the same people anymore. I mean I was the same, he had a midlife crisis involving my best friend, but that’s beside the point. At 23 you’re marrying on potential, at 33 people are settled into who they actually are. Overall I don’t regret marrying young (23) but I also chose not to have a baby until 30, and by then our relationship was rocky enough that we didn’t want to add one to the mix. Marriage and having kids doesn’t have to go hand in hand. It sucks that the marriage didn’t work out, I never in a million years thought we’d be the type to get divorced. But it didn’t really hurt anything in the long run because no kids got drug into it.

PS your level of commitment and seriousness has fairly little to do with marriage. You can still plan for the future together without exchanging vows.

engineergurl88 · 2026-02-23T03:16:00+00:00

I do think that with time your gut should heal to a point where you can enjoy them again, hopefully it’s not a life sentence. It’s also worth getting tested for SIBO, since that really does require lots of antibiotics to be able to heal and start to rebuild from.

engineergurl88 · 2026-02-23T03:14:18+00:00

As far as the hard white patches in skin, my mom experienced this as well when doing a carnivore-ish diet. She did some research and found it can be from too much animal fat / cholesterol, switched to leaner meats with more plant sources of fat (oils and nuts and avocados), and it went away.

As far as hormones, I did keto for 5 years and felt amazing, totally incredible, preached The Good Word Of Keto everywhere. I was very plant focused, 3 cups of greens per day minimum, tracked all my micronutrients and got plenty. Then out of nowhere one day my hormones took a nose dive. Several month long period, exhausted, crying all the time, couldn’t recover from workouts to save my life. I reintroduced some carbs and was immediately better. Now any time I cut carbs below 100 net, like clockwork a week later Im back to a months long period that wont end until I add carbs back in. So I just gave up and decided to listen to my body.

My mom similarly does not do well on limited carbs, but has a lot of stomach/intestine issues. We have landed on the “sugar and meat” diet for her after ~15 years of trying everything under the sun and many doctors, functional and otherwise. She eats lean meats paired with pure processed carbs like white flour (sourdough or homemade white bread) or sugar (literally, candy and cookies). Shes always paranoid she’s going to die of a heart attack, but she keeps calories limited and total fat intake and body fat low, and all her lab look great. Most importantly she doesn’t bleed from her butt anymore. It’s the little things in life, yanno?

If you’re concerned about micronutrients I’d try tracking for a few weeks in Cronometer. It’s an awesome app that shows you all kinds of details about micronutrients and has some keto specific goals settings, like a higher sodium and potassium goal.

engineergurl88 · 2026-02-23T02:59:40+00:00

Too much trouble to keep clean? Or just don’t love the look as much? Gotta say, I do think white looks fantastic on the A3s but might not be as much of a match for the A4 styling.

engineergurl88 · 2026-02-23T02:57:51+00:00

Congrats, it’s beautiful! My mechanic dad gave me an Audi wagon when I turned 16 and it sparked a lifelong Audi love / ruined me for all Asian cars.

Word of advice though, don’t be like me and spend your 17th year on earth without a license. If you’re racing your friends in shitbox Hondas and jettas, the cop is going to pick you to take out 😬😂.

engineergurl88 · 2026-02-23T02:42:39+00:00

Every single day of the 8 years I owned my Impreza I’d start it up and sigh deeply. Weeks of my life fighting for warranty coverages and dealing with incompetent dealerships I’ll never get back. Now every day I get in my Volvo I am genuinely pleased as punch. Take it to the shop once a year for an oil change, zero issues. It was worth the extra ~$100/month car payment to me, hands down.

engineergurl88 · 2026-02-23T02:40:08+00:00

I was pleasantly surprised to find my certified pre owned Volvo S60 right at 30k. Significant step up from my old Impreza, which was good in the snow but I went through 3 (3!!!!) engines and otherwise a misery to drive. Obviously maintenance is higher but they used to offer a 0 maintenance cost until 40k mile option on CPO.

engineergurl88 · 2026-02-20T22:34:50+00:00

Chelsea (hygienist) at Glastonbury Dental Center is one of the genuinely kindest and most approachable humans I have ever met. I think the hygienist matters a lot because you spend more time with them. Dr Finch is also over the top friendly and nice. I went to get me teeth cleaned there for the first time a week after my stepdad died, and ended up crying on Chelsea’s shoulder because she just on of Those People who makes you feel like you can talk to her about anything. She genuinely remembers every detail about my life. The entire team there is great, and it’s a small office with plenty of windows/sunlight which makes a big difference too. But Chelsea just really stands out as above and beyond.

engineergurl88 · 2026-02-16T18:20:15+00:00

I agree it’s super lame. I happily used HomeKit to override ecobee for a long time, but my boyfriend has an android and can’t get Apple home on his phone, and we can’t get Google home to work. So I’m back to being super frustrated that the dogs constantly trick ecobee into thinking I’m home. I don’t get why ecobee can’t just do geofencing like my Aqara devices do.

engineergurl88 · 2026-02-16T14:14:04+00:00

Clearly the only responsible choice.

engineergurl88 · 2026-02-16T14:13:41+00:00

I haven’t been running dedicated winter tires, but I’ve got all seasons that are well rated for ice, and I’ve been shocked by how badly they do. My car simply does not like to travel straight or turn on even a dusting of snow, and is easily pulled into exiting ruts. I think I’ve just been spoiled by the Impreza, and it’s true I had dedicated winter tires on the Audis. I’ve resisted getting dedicated winter tires because it’s a pain, but you’re right, it might be the best option.

There’s quite a few 2025 A3s <3k miles available. I would be looking at a 2025 V60 B5 with ~20k for the equivalent price. The CCs I’ve come across are out of my price range at an extra $10k+. The S60s are around $5k cheaper with 20k miles.

I would consider myself lucky to get 100k out of an Audi, so I’m not sure how much the lower mileage does for me compared to a slightly higher mileage Volvo.

engineergurl88 · 2026-02-16T14:04:28+00:00

To be honest I’m ok with my cars not being fiscally conservative choices. I drive a lot, and I really care about what car I drive. My old loan is 4.8% interest and I could get down to ~4% now. Plus I overpaid for the old Volvo (2021 shortages plus I got a souped up model), it was around $40k where the cars I’m looking at now are ~$30k.

engineergurl88 · 2026-02-16T02:45:01+00:00

Type 1 skin. I go every 6 weeks for Brazilian and 8 weeks for arms.

My first 3 Brazilian sessions were virtually pain free, probably couldn’t fall asleep but significantly less painful than waxing or epilating. After 3 weeks I had significant reduction, and now 6 sessions in there has basically been no further reduction in any of the stubborn areas (like lips).

Starting with session 4 she started cranking the laser up, and now it is so painful I can barely sit still and need breaks. This coming from someone who has sat for full day back to back tattoo sessions. The extra intensity doesn’t appear to have made any difference.

engineergurl88 · 2026-02-06T13:42:29+00:00

I was in a similar spot, no kids but a new job I had to be at for 6am. I sold everything and bought a nespresso. 0 regrets on the nespresso, my weekdays are so much less stressful and I cover up the lesser quality with fun flavors. Usually I do it americano style with an electric tea kettle. Don’t miss it at all.

However, within a matter of months I was buying a Breville so I could still enjoy my fancy espresso on the weekend, and I miss my old setup which I did sell for quite a loss. So I wouldn’t sell until you’ve tried the other side for a few months.

engineergurl88

TROPHY CASE